"Intensive Archaeological Survey of the Proposed Pinewood Trails Projec" by Nesta Anderson and Sheldon Smith

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Article Title

Intensive Archaeological Survey of the Proposed Pinewood Trails Project, Montgomery and Liberty Counties, Texas

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Agency

Texas Historical Commission

Abstract

At the request of LGI Homes-Texas LLC, Pape-Dawson Engineers (Pape-Dawson) conducted an intensive archaeological survey of the proposed Pinewood Trails project located within Montgomery and Liberty Counties, Texas. The project will consist of construction of a water treatment plant, a wastewater treatment plant, well, and detention pond facility on a total of 9 acres (3.6 hectares [ha]) of land. The project also includes approximately 5.1 linear miles of connecting utility lines (8.3 km). The proposed water line will be constructed within a 10-foot (ft) (3 meter [m]) easement, while the wastewater lines will be installed within a 25 ft (7.6 m) easement. The total easement width (including temporary construction easements) will be 100 ft (30 m). Anticipated maximum depth of impacts will be approximately 4-15 ft (1.2-4.6 m) below ground surface for the lines, with approximately 1 ft (0.30 m) of subsurface impacts within the temporary construction easement. Construction will take place on both public and private lands. For the purpose of this project, the Area of Potential Effects (APE) is defined as the facilities’ footprint, total easements for the utility lines, and the anticipated maximum depth of impacts.

The water treatment plant, wastewater treatment plant, and well will be owned by the City of Cleveland, and the detention pond facility will be owned by the Cleveland Municipal Utility District (MUD) #1. Therefore, the project will require compliance with the Antiquities Code of Texas (ACT). In addition, Section 404 compliance may be needed, which would require compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act will be necessary.

Pape-Dawson conducted an archaeological survey for the Pinewood Trails project intermittently between July 22 and August 6, 2019. This work was conducted under Texas Antiquities Permit No. 9006. Nesta Anderson served as the Principal Investigator, and was assisted in the field by Jacob Sullivan, Sheldon Smith, and Ann Marie Blackmon. The APE for the project was subjected to a pedestrian survey augmented by shovel testing. A total of 118 shovel tests were excavated, four of which were positive for cultural material. As a result of the pedestrian survey and shovel test efforts, one new archaeological site (41MQ336) and two isolated finds were recorded.

Sites 41MQ336 is a prehistoric site consisting of a low-density lithic artifact scatter of indeterminate temporal affiliation. The site is situated within the right-of-way (ROW) on the west side of Fostoria Road and appears to have been heavily disturbed by roadway construction and utility installation. No diagnostic materials or features were observed within the APE. Given the paucity of artifacts, the absence of diagnostic material, and the heavy disturbances, Pape-Dawson recommends that site 41MQ336, is Not Eligible for NRHP inclusion or for SAL designation.

Based on results of the survey, Pape-Dawson recommends that no further archaeological work is necessary and that the project be allowed to proceed. However, if undiscovered cultural material is encountered during construction, it is recommended that all work in the vicinity should cease and that the discovery be evaluated by a qualified archaeologist who can provide guidance on how to proceed in accordance with federal and state regulations. Field records and artifacts will be curated at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) Center for Archaeological Research (CAR) in accordance with Texas Historical Commission (THC) guidelines.